By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support local journalism.

Update from the Gold Dome: Week 3

Steve Gooch.

Sen. Steve Gooch

Updated:
Feb. 4, 2019, 10:08 a.m.

Despite a shortened week due to the prediction of
inclement weather, things are moving right along here at the Capitol. Jan. 28 marked
the beginning of committee meetings, where bills are first heard, amended and
voted on. Once the “snow” day had come and gone, we returned to the Senate chamber
to get back to business.

Over the next few weeks, we will continue to meet in
committees and start to hear bills on the Senate floor.

Along with attending committee meetings, I continued my work
on two pieces of legislation I introduced at the beginning of session
addressing the deployment of broadband and 5G technology.

Senate Bill 2 would
allow EMCs to provide internet services and broadband to their customers, in
addition to supplying electrical energy. The corporations would be able to
provide these additional services either directly or indirectly through a broadband
affiliate.

Senate Bill 17, the “Rural Telephone Cooperative Act,”
mirrors the language in Senate Bill 2 and would allow telephone cooperatives to
provide internet services and broadband to their customers.

By enabling EMCs and telephone cooperatives to deploy these
services, we can create a competitive marketplace and expand broadband access
to all Georgians. These two bills are just the beginning of my efforts to
achieve my number one priority for the session – bringing broadband access to
those who do not have it and expanding access for those in areas where quality
is limited.

Both of these bills have been assigned to the Senate
Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee. I look forward to working with my
colleagues on the committee, our members and all interested parties on moving
these bills through the legislative process. It is my goal to have both of
these bills signed into law this year. I am confident that this goal can be
achieved as Gov. Brian Kemp echoed the priority to expand broadband access in
his State of the State address.

I was honored last week to have been appointed by Gov. Kemp
to serve on the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Overview Committee. This
committee is charged with ensuring Georgians’ safety while moving across and
around the metro area, and I do not take this responsibility lightly. In this
role, and in my role as vice chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, I
look forward to achieving great things for Atlanta’s, and Georgia’s,
transportation systems this session.

As always, it is an honor to serve the 51st Senate District
of Georgia, thank you for your continued trust in me. Please call or email me
with any questions, comments or concerns you have as we move through the next
33 legislative days. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sen. Steve Gooch serves as the Senate Majority Whip. He represents the
51st Senate District which includes Dawson, Fannin, Gilmer, Lumpkin, Union and
White counties and portions of Forsyth and Pickens counties.